The girl is mine.

I was starting to wonder if I had become a once a month blogger. Recapping the happenings of Q & A, most of which was a repeat for anybody who followed me on instagram or facebook. But, maybe it was just the slow winter months that left me empty of exciting blog posts. Cause, this month, with the great change in weather came some excitement and blog worthy posts. I have enough stuff to make individual blogs for Easter and a cousin visit and of course my trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. I know that a lot of the pictures are repeats for anybody to follows me on instagram or facebook, but I love having a tangible record of my life to print out and look at months, years later. Including the comments. I feel like those add to the narrative of my life just as much as my own words. 

So I will work on getting on my longer posts and for now leave you with a post on the crazy girl that is Qiana!

Man, I am loving this age. She is my best friend, and we have so much fun together. She is able to have some great conversations, is a great errand partner, and loves to snuggle whenever I want. She does a great job of entertaining herself, but loves it when I am able to play with her. She loves going to school and hanging out with other kids. It fascinates me some of the things that come out of her mouth, and the imaginative things that she comes up with. She loves to sing and dance, and is not shy about performing. She loves watching tv and movies, and (no joke) will repeat funny lines she hears over and over until she can quote them to me. I couldn't be more proud of her. 

Q recently finished her Polynesian Dance class and participated in the recital

She loved her teacher Auntie Lani

In an epic mom fail I realized my battery for my camera was dead when I went up to tape her, so I had to do it on my phone. But in an epic Q win, she knew the whole dance by herself and wasn't watching her teacher at all for help. I was very proud. 

One day when it was still windy and yucky, Q and I spent some time playing around in Toys r' us. I remember doing this all the time as a kid, and it was a great way to get out of the house. 

Q's been really into doing "fashion shoots" and is getting quite good at her poses. Tyra would be so proud. 

Kim has a great back yard, and Q loves to do anything involving outdoors. Elsie has some cute friends, that Q loves to hang out with too. 

One day after hitting up the gym, Q and I did a little park time near by. She's getting lots better climbing up stuff, and I have less of a panic attack watching her do so. 

another "photo shoot" This was her dress for St. Patty's day party at school She thought she was pretty hot stuff. 

Q loved the little scavenger hunt the "leprachaun" set up for her and really loved the gold coins she got at the end.

Q loves to "play music" and freestyles in her microphone.

Saving all my love for you...

February in pictures: 

At the beginning of the month, we had a couple visitors from WA come stay with us. I was super pumped, and Q just couldn't get enough of them. Brad had other friends that he went and hung out with on occasion, but Nick was all ours for a couple days and it was awesome. Q was super sad when they left, and asks about them pretty much every day.  She loves visitors. 

Thus is what my Valentine's shelves ended up looking like. They were pretty festive. At first I thought it looked like cupid had vomited Valentine's day all over, but then I got into it and liked it. 

For school, Q had to decorate a shoe box for their Valentine's exchange. She didn't have shoeboxes, so we decorated a FRuit snacks box instead. I modge podged the paper on, and Q did all the rest. She was pretty proud of her box. Here she is ready for her party at school. 

On actual Valentine's day we got to spend the day with family which was super fun. Q and I met Aunt Peggy for lunch at Happy Sumo, and had some delicious sushi...yummmm. plus, for dessert we tried a one of the caramel apples at the Rocky Mountain CHocolate place...and it was delicious. Later we met up with Peggy, Courtney, and Kendall and did some Wedding dress shopping for Courtney. It was so fun. Q was in heaven surrounded by all these princess dresses, and enjoyed helping Courtney walk from the dressing room to the mirrors. Unfortunately, Courtney didn't find "the dress" while we were with her, but we had fun anyway. 

Q is a ball of energy, and likes to be doing stuff all the time. Every night she asks me what we are doing the next day, and it can be exhausting.  I'm dreading this summer and trying to entertain her every day for three months, so I am trying to figure out camps, classes, activities that she can do to help fill her day (and mine). I had read online that this gymnastics place in Orem let you come to one one hour class for free to see if you like it, and I jumped at the chance. Q loved it! Gymnastics stuff always makes me super nervous, cause I hate the thought of kids falling and hurting themselves, so it was a little nerve wracking watching her try stuff, but she really liked it, and wants to go back. So I'm probably gonna sign her up for a class or a camp this summer. 

she has minimal upper body strength, which she needs to work on.

For Presidents Day, both the girls had no school, so Kim and I wanted to get them out and about and let them play. So we went to the Discovery Park in Pleasant Grove. Their was a little bit of snow and ice on the ground, but the weather was perfect for playing outside, and the girls had a blast. Kim and I just stood or sat nearby talking, while the girls explored the play area. 

The girls kept asking Kim to spin them around on this thing, and were loving it. Until Q started getting a little quiet, and we knew she was not okay. She softly fell back off the tire, and was super dizzy. So we sat and rested for a couple minutes, and then she was back to running around on the play area. 

Q had her 6 month check-up at the dentist, and again no cavities. She did so good sitting there getting her teeth cleaned and checked. 

I used to to gag so much with the flouride that my dentist would apply the flouride gel to my teeth with a q-tip instead, Q was a champ. 

Ever since we had gone to the circus and the girls saw a face painting booth (that we were unwilling to pay for), they have wanted their face painted. So one day Kim obliged and painted everything they requested. They thought they were so cool. 

Q loves watching the LeapFRog movies (which is great), and lately she likes to take "notes" on what she learns. haha. Her notes are mostly drawings, or random letters or scribbles, but I like the thought of it. 

While Peggy was still in town we went over to Cali's one night to hang out and chat. Q got some baby Willie time in, and she was happy. 

This girl is a ball of energy, and really keeps me on my toes, but she makes me laugh. 

February is over, and the weather is starting to warm up (it's sad when I consider 40-50 degrees warm), and I just know Spring will be here before I know it. Life is good.

Gonna be a movie star....and I'm gonna learn to drive a car...

Q was on a serious performance kick tonight, and wanted me to video her doing some of her favorite songs and dances....I, of course, couldn't pick up the camera fast enough. I love watching her...hopefully you guys do to...if not, feel free to skip these videos.








What she sometimes lacks in lyrical memorization, she makes up for in commitment and entertainment value!

The days and nights are long. When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on

I have never had weather affect me as much as this horrible winter has. The constant snow, the biting cold, the gloomy cloudy days have taken their tole of me, my psyche, my emotions. I have no motivation to do anything, especially writing about my life. But looking back through my printed out blogs years from now, I don't want to miss this month, and the things we did, so here it goes. 

January: As Seen On Instagram and/or Facebook. 

Q and I spent New Year's eve just the two of us. We went to dinner at a sushi place, got dessert at Burger King (Q loves their strawberry milkshakes), then snuggled up and watch a couple old school movies on Netflix (Jumanji and Free Willy).  At about 10pm we could see a huge firework show at Provo Towne Center from our place, so we stood inside and watched from the window. Q thought it was so awesome.  Q had taken a long nap, in preparation for the nights festivities, so she stayed up and rang in the new year with me at midnight! She thought she was pretty cool.

I was super excited that an Earl wedding reception was going to be in Utah, because it meant that I got to hang out with my ladies.  Excellent food, good cake ball desserts, laughs, chit chat, and a dance party...that's what's up!  Plus I got to dust off my ol' "bye bye bye" moves...so it was pretty much an epic night. Q had sooooooo much fun, and was NOT happy when the party was over (yep, she's my daughter). 

Speaking of old school movies, I have started watching with Q movies that I loved from my childhood, and she is really loving them. She loved jumanji, and still watches it every couple days. She was also a big fan of the neverending story, princess bride, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. In fact Willy Wonka was showing in our house every day for like two weeks...so I broke down and got her the collectors edition DVD. She loves the music from it, and does a great Veruca Salt in "I want it now".  She is also a fan of the newer Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but likes the music in the original better. 

I'm sure Kim will post about this, but Elsie had a birthday party, and it was an "Art Party" theme...Kim went all out!!  It was so much fun. and the decorations and food were simply fantastic. 

I love Q's creativity, and her ability to make and do stuff on her own...

bead jewelry

homemade headphones

pirate costume

I've had a love/hate relationship with Q and her use of art tools. I love that she likes to color, and likes to be creative and abstract (she refuses to use coloring books), but I hate that she is so messy, and has ruined a couple shirts with pen or marker. So I got this art smock for her, so that she can be a free and uninhibited as she wants with her art and I don't have to keep buying her clothes. 

WE had such a fun ladies night at Linh's house. a yummy soup/salad dinner, followed by beauty tips, waxing, bra fitting, and gift bags with nail polish, nail files, lotions, etc. Plus we made homemade body scrub and foot scrub.  So yeah, it was a pretty fun night!!  I was able to get somebody to hang out with Q (thanks Ashley Tucker), so I was fancy and free all evening. I didn't want the night to end with my girls. 

Linh gave Q another doggy, and she was so super stoked. She had a great night hanging out with Ashley, and didn't miss me at all. 

The circus came to town! With a great discount on tickets through Groupon, I broke down and took Q to the circus. Kim, Aaron, and Elsie joined us as well and it was a great night. I'm not a super fan of clowns, but Q thought they were pretty funny. The show started late, so when it was almost 9 and the still intermission, we all packed up and went home instead of finishing it out. We had already seen tigers, dogs, trapeze, dancing girls, motorcycle and bike tricks, and juggling so we don't think we missed anything. Q asks to go again every day. 

Remember how I said that Q doesn't color conventionally...well she doesn't do most things the conventional way.Try as hard as I do, she just can't seem to sit on the furniture the way it's meant to be. She will choose the floor, the ottoman, or this...over simply sitting on the soft couch cushion. I don't know what else to do but laugh. 

Also on the list (but no pictures)

1. plenty of hang out time with Kimmie and Elsie

2. I'm getting thru all the oscar nominated best picture movies in time for the Oscars (thanks internet!)

3. Researching and planning a little getaway with Mindi Stoker to Playa Del Carmen (in March)....I gotta get out of this weather

4. dieting...again...it's not awesome.

5. I'm taking a weekly Polynesian dance class at the Rec Center (Q is doing hers again as well). It has been so fun and such a good workout....my hips don't lie.

Well there it is...what we've been up to in January.